Mother Encouraged Child’s Pregnancy
Rod Leveque, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Mar. 31
CHINO — A Chino mother pleaded guilty to child abuse this week for allowing her 12-year-old daughter to have sex and get pregnant.
Prosecutors say Maria Alvarado, 44, knew her daughter wanted to have sex, knew the girl wanted a baby and encouraged her to do so. The daughter, now 13, has since given birth.
“She should have exercised responsibility and not allowed her young daughter to have sexual relations,” Deputy District Attorney Robert Lemkau said Wednesday. “Her daughter’s youth has been stolen from her. Young girls should be in school, and this one is now a mother.”
Alvarado will spend at least four years on felony probation and must undergo a year of psychological counseling, Lemkau said. She will be sentenced April 27 in Chino Superior Court.
The young girl’s father was not charged with any crimes. Lemkau said he saw no evidence that the father knew of his daughter’s sexual desires.
“He was unaware,” Lemkau said. “He was quite upset about the whole scenario.”
Alvarado’s attorney did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Chino police arrested Alvarado in December after a doctor reported the pregnancy to police. The girl was already six to seven months pregnant by then, detective Jack Whitworth said.
Detectives interviewed the mother, who freely admitted that she encouraged her daughter to have sex, Whitworth said.
“She said she was also very young when she got pregnant,” Whitworth said. “I think there were some cultural issues involved.”
Alvarado spent several months in jail before a judge released her on her own recognizance, Whitworth said.
The girl’s 16-year-old boyfriend has since moved to Mexico.
Whitworth said the boy could also potentially be prosecuted for child molestation if he returns and authorities identify him.
“Any child under 14 is not capable in the eyes of the law of giving consent,” Whitworth said. “A 16-year-old and a 12-year-old is still considered (child molestation).”
Whitworth said Child Protective Services were involved in the case, though he believed the mother, daughter and new baby still live together.
Alvarado was originally charged with child molestation under the theory that she aided and abetted the pregnancy by encouraging her daughter to be sexually active.
The molestation charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Lemkau said Wednesday his office had little legal precedent for filing the molestation charge against Alvarado, although he was confident it would have held up legally.
The only remotely similar case of which he was aware involved a mother in Santa Clara County who stood and watched while her boyfriend molested her young daughter.
A state appellate court ruled in December that the mother could be charged with child molestation under the theory that she aided and abetted the boyfriend by failing to protect her daughter or stop the sexual assault.
“I think we also had a legitimate argument,” Lemkau said.